ARLINGTON — When Jennifer Jensen’s third-grade students took scissors to magazines in her class at Presidents Elementary, they were “Thinking Win/Win.”

Student Deondre Garcia said, “We’re cutting words out of these magazines to describe ourselves.”

Classmate Chloe Falk added: “We’re gluing them to a page, to show words that represent us and make us unique. Each flower blooms in its own way.”

Jensen explained that part of a “Win/Win” mentality involves defining themselves without relying on competition with others.

“We have to appreciate who we are and be happy with ourselves first before we can accept others,” Jensen said.

Parents and other adult community members got to tour through classrooms throughout Presidents Elementary June 8, to see how the students were applying “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” as part of the “Leader In Me” national program.

During a school assembly before the tours, students explained what the Seven Habits meant in the context of their school work.

Grace Davis tackled Habit 3, “Put First Things First,” by explaining how she makes sure to do her homework before she plays. Classmate Bjorn Gudgeon told the audience how he practices Habit 4, “Think Win/Win.”

“Make sure everyone wins because anyone can win,” Bjorn said. “For example, if there is one iPad left, but two people need to take an AP test, you can just take turns.”

Kyle Schroeder, treasurer for the student council, offered an overview of how the Leader In Me program has made an impact on his school, from leadership lessons to award ceremonies for students who demonstrate excellence in specific habits.

Kyle realized that much of the success he’d already had as a student was because, even before he’d heard of the Seven Habits, he routinely applied Habits 1 and 3 — “Be Prepared” and “Put First Things First” — to his studies.

Kyle and his classmates learned all Seven Habits, including “Begin With the End in Mind” (2), “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood” (5), “Synergize” (6) and “Sharpen the Saw” (7).

As Jensen’s students cut out words from magazines, she pointed to the artwork hanging from the ceiling that illustrated the work they’d done on Habit 6.

“They synergized their efforts by working together to create this beautiful piece,” Jensen said, noting that the organic-looking curls came from cutting up plastic bottles and painting them.

Kyle emphasized that, unlike educational models that see “some kids as naturally smart and others as not,” the Leader In Me program “sees every child as capable, and every child as a leader,” before he posed a final question to the adults. “What would be possible, if your schools were filled with students who were responsible, who showed initiative, who were creative, who knew how to set goals and meet them, who got along with people of various backgrounds and cultures, and who could resolve conflicts and solve problems?”